By my reckoning the music of Richard Strauss ranks fifth in
the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra’s post-war list of most played
composers. The tone poems Don Juan and Till Eulenspiegel
have been enduring staples of their repertoire. I have looked
at listings of Berlin Philharmonic concerts at home and abroad
during 1954-57; a period close to the time that the scores on
this Regis re-issue were recorded. Standing out as one of the
most performed of all works was Don Juan with Till
Eulenspiegel also frequently played. Don Quixote proved
rather less popular. I should think its relative neglect is
nothing to do with its quality but owing to its length of over
forty minutes - the duration of a typical symphony.

Between the wartime destruction of their regular home at the
(alte) Philharmonie in 1944 and the opening of the new Philharmonie
in 1963 the Berlin Philharmonic used a number of venues for
their concerts: halls that had not been too badly damaged by
bombing. The majority of the orchestra’s concerts were held
initially in the large auditorium of the Titania Palast cinema
at Steglitz which had been left miraculously undamaged. Later
the primary venue was the hall of the Berlin Academy of Music.
I have read complaints about the poor acoustics at both the
Titania Palast and the Academy with the latter’s auditorium
having a relatively small audience capacity.

In the 1950s and early 1960s before the re-born Philharmonie
the majority of the Berlin Phil’s recordings were made at the
Jesus Christ Church at Berlin, Dahlem. An extremely popular
recording venue the church is still used for that purpose today.
However Rudolf Kempe made this stereo recording of Don Quixote
and Till Eulenspiegel at the Grunewaldkirche, Berlin
in 1958. I have also discovered that Fritz Lehmann’s mono recording
of Don Juan with the Berlin Philharmonic was recorded
in 1954. The likelihood is that Lehmann made the recording at
the Berlin Dahlem venue which he had used for several other
Berlin Philharmonic recordings.
Strauss’s Don Quixote fantastic variations on a theme
of knightly character for large orchestra was named after the
greatest of all characters from Spanish literature. Strauss
had been inspired by the picaresque novel by Miguel de Cervantes,
an intensely sympathetic representation of the errant knight,
Don Quixote de la Mancha. The main character is represented
by a solo cello played here by the eminent soloist Paul Tortelier.
Quixote’s assistant Sancho Panza is depicted mainly by a solo
viola played by Giusto Cappone and sometimes by the bass clarinet
and tenor tuba.

Right from the opening bars Kempe obtains playing of spine-tingling
beauty. The sumptuous outpouring of music sweeps and glistens
with all sections having the ability to shine. I especially
enjoyed the biting brass at 5:27-5:59 heralding the entry at
6:00 of Don Quixote with Tortelier’s cello revealing
a glorious timbre. So expressive is Tortelier that at times
it feels as if his cello it is speaking and even weeping. With
the sudden thud at 9:15 it is easy to imagine the deluded Quixote
tilting at windmills after mistaking them for giants and being
unceremoniously thrown from his horse. Following quickly on
is the convincingly sombre mood as the blundering knight-errant
sits on the ground licking his wounds. In the Finale Kempe
and Tortelier shape a strangely calm and peaceful atmosphere
as Quixote lies dying.

The tone poem Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (Till
Eulenspiegel’s merry pranks) after an old picaresque legend
in rondo form for large orchestra, Op, 28 was composed by Strauss
in 1895. Till Eulenspiegel,Strauss’s mischievous
prankster, is a character from fourteenth century traditional
German folk legends. This agreeably heart-warming score is full
of light-hearted mischief. Kempe directs a most convincing depiction
of the likable rascal. At 8:19 the near-sardonic waltz is so
light on its feet and the impish melody on the horn is strikingly
played with joy and relish. I loved the sense of sorrow and
near-tragedy in the Finale followed immediately by the
abrupt resurrection of the roguish Till who in the final bars
humorously cannot resist cocking a snook at authority.

The final work is the Don Juan tone poem after Nikolaus
Lenau’s dramatic poem, Op. 20. It was the seventeenth century
Spanish playwright Tirso de Molina who created the character
of the renowned Spanish lover Don Juan from traditional folk
legends. Many playwrights were inspired to write about Don Juan
notably Dumas, Byron, Dumas and Molière. Based on the play by
Hungarian poet Nikolaus Lenau, Strauss was only twenty-four
when he first made sketches for this orchestral masterpiece
in 1888. This period was an extremely happy one in Strauss’s
life as around this time he was in love with his future wife
soprano Pauline de Ahna. Lehmann directs a noble introduction
to the score that soon reverts to its predominantly lush and
ripe sensuality. Tempestuous and powerful the Berlin orchestra’s
surges of restless energy are almost overwhelming.

The Regis booklet contains a fine essay from Hugo Shirley but
the recording information that should have been provided is
sketchy. Now over fifty years old the sound quality is highly
impressive for its age. Kempe and Lehmann are first class conductors
who obtain vitally refreshing and thrillingly recorded performances.
I would be perfectly happy if these accounts were the only ones
in my collection.

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